Dragon Eyes
by Death by Bambi Tapes
Summary: A young Shang comes to live at the palace in Corus. How will people react when they learn who she is and about her father?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the girl Katja. Everything else belongs to Mrs. Pierce.  
  
*************************  
  
  
  
Eda Bell, the Shang Wildcat, bowed to King Jonathan. "Thank you, your highness. I'm sure the girl will be happy here."  
  
The King smiled. "I hope so. Not many Shang are content with staying in one place."  
  
Eda Bell thought for a second. "I'm sure she will find home in this place."  
  
The two kept the one thought they shared secret. There was no sure thing.  
  
*************************  
  
A week later, King Jonathan, Alanna the Lioness, Duke Gareth and Lord Raoul sat in the King's study. A knock interrupted the conversation.  
  
"Come in." Jon called.  
  
The Shang Wildcat peered in, and Jon beckoned her to join them. She walked into the room, followed closely by a young girl.  
  
"Highness, may I present Katja, the Shang Unicorn?"  
  
Raoul, Alanna and Gary exchanged a look. This girl couldn't be older than seventeen. The girl stood, her eyes on the ground. She had olive skin, along with black hair that fell past her shoulders. She was a little taller than the Wildcat she stood next to, probably about 5 foot 10.  
  
"Isn't she young?", Alanna voiced her opinion, the one she shared with her two friends.  
  
The girl raised her head to look the Lioness in the eye, and Alanna's breath caught in her throat as the girl's eyes turned from a light blue to a brilliant green.  
  
********************  
  
There was silence in the room as Alanna stared in shock at the girl, and as Katja back at her, keeping her eyes on Alanna's.  
  
"Who are you?", Alanna asked, her voice just barely a whisper.  
  
"The Wildcat just told you."  
  
Alanna tried again, despite the look on the girl's face. "Who was your father?"  
  
A sly smile crept across the girl's face. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"Katja." Eda snapped, glaring at the girl for showing no manners.  
  
"Sorry, Eda." She turned back to Alanna. "I am Katja Ironarm, the Shang Unicorn."  
  
An uncomfortable silence spread through the room. Alanna swallowed. "Liam..?" She did not finish her question. It hung in the air for a couple seconds, until Alanna thought it would go unanswered.  
  
Katja's eyes changed to a blue-grey. "My father."  
  
There was even more silence. The King cleared his throat. "Katja, would you like someone to show you around the palace?"  
  
Katja tore her eyes away from Alanna. "Eda-"  
  
"I need the Wildcat to stay. I have things to discuss with her." The king smiled. "But I'm sure we can get someone else to show you around." He looked at Raoul, who nodded.  
  
********************  
  
Squire Keladry of Mindelan walked beside a silent Shang warrior. She glanced in the girl's direction a couple times. I heard she was my age, thought Keladry, but she seems, well, older. Katja turned her head and looked at Keladry.  
  
"What?"  
  
Kel couldn't say it was nothing, the girl obviously wasn't stupid. "Is your father really Liam Ironarm?"  
  
Katja sighed and looked ahead. "Was."  
  
Kel looked at the girl with pity. "Here's the dining hall."  
  
The Shang followed the Squire inside.  
  
*********************  
  
"Jon, why didn't you tell me?" Alanna snapped after their companions had left the room.  
  
The King shrugged. "I didn't think-"  
  
"That's it! You didn't think!"  
  
Jonathan frowned. "Alanna, what has come over you?"  
  
The Lady knight sat. "I thought I had let go of him, Jon. I barely thought of him anymore, thought I didn't care. But then she showed up... I could have prevented it, Jon. But I was so selfish...I begged him to come."  
  
Her old friend sat beside her, and took her hand in his. "Alanna, you know that he was ready to die. You told me so yourself."  
  
"I wasn't ready for him to die, though."  
  
"It wasn't-"  
  
"The girl has grown up without any family, Jon. Didn't you listen to Eda Bell? If it weren't for me, she'd still have a father."  
  
Jonathan stood. "Alanna, stop it.", he snapped. The King's Champion looked at him in shock. "I refuse to talk to you when you're like this. You know very well that it was not your fault. So STOP IT." He turned and walked out the door, leaving Alanna looking after him.  
  
***********************************************************  
  
If anyone's confused (I don't think you will be, but it's possible) I'm going to clear some things up later. Until then…………..CHEEEEEEEEEESSSSEEEEEEEE! Oh yeah, I know the timings a little messed up, she should be twenty or twenty-one, but if it gets too old I cant really write the character well, cause I'm only 14, so just…pretend, lol. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I disclaim, thus I am a Disclaimer. HAHAHA, Just kidding.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
As Katja followed Kel in, the squire explained why there were so many other squires in the room. "Tomorrow is the beginning of Mid-Winter and-"  
  
"What's Mid-winter?" asked Katja, causing Kel to stop and stare at the other girl.  
  
"What's mid-winter?" Kel echoed as she stared at the Unicorn as if she has sprouted two heads- or, more fittingly, a horn. Katja nodded.  
  
"Well. it's a festival. to celebrate, well, mid-winter." She smiled weakly at the other girl. "Sorry. I just never had to explain it to anyone before."  
  
Katja grinned back at her. 'That's alright." And she kept smiling as Kel led her to a table full of squires.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Eda!" Alanna called out. When the Wildcat paused, the Lioness ran to catch up with her. "I've been looking for you."  
  
"Yes?" the Wildcat asked. "Why me?"  
  
Alanna looked at her feet. "What can you tell me about the girl?"  
  
Eda gave her a funny look. "I already told you about her." She looked curiously at the Lioness's face. "Ah. You want to know if she's like her father."  
  
Alanna nodded expectantly.  
  
"She's almost exactly like him."  
  
Alanna's heart fell. That's what she had been afraid of.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"This is Neal, Kel, Owen, Merric, Warric and Faleron." Kel gestured to each of them in turn. 'And this is Katja."  
  
She was relieved that Keladry left out her last name and her title while introducing her. It made people uncomfortable, especially in Tortall.  
  
"Hello, Katja, and welcome to Corus." The boy named Neal smiled at her. She nodded respectively.  
  
"Thank you." The boys moved to make rooms for them on the long bench. They settled down to eat, and Katja was soon bombarded with questions.  
  
"So, Katja, where are you from?" Faleron asked, his eyes searching. She glared at him, and he looked away.  
  
"Nowhere in particular. I travel around a lot." She said.  
  
Neal nodded knowingly. "Yes, most of the time Shang don't like to stay in one place."  
  
Katja looked at him in shock, as did the other boys.  
  
Neal just shrugged. 'My father told me."  
  
"Did he tell you anything else?" she asked, trying not to sound too eager. To her relief, Neil shook his head. 'That's it."  
  
"So you're Shang?' asked Owen  
  
"What's your rank?" added Merric.  
  
"When did you start?" put in Warric.  
  
"Whoa." Laughed Kel. "If you're asking questions, you night wasn't to let her answer." The boys turned red, but looked expectantly at Katja, who shrugged.  
  
"I started training when I was around four."  
  
Faleron looked at her, but she was unable to read his expression. "That's young."  
  
She responded coolly. "Shang start young."  
  
"Do they start everything young?" he asked mockingly.  
  
Her eyes turned an intense green. 'What is THAT supposed to mean?"  
  
Warric jumped in again. "Katja, what's your rank?"  
  
Her eyes never Faleron's "Unicorn." She said, throwing it as a challenge.  
  
"How did you start so young/" Owen presses.  
  
Katja shrugged once more. "My father was Shang, so-"  
  
"Katja Ironarm! There you are." Alanna's voice rang out as all the heads in the mess hall turned towards the only stranger in their midst- Katja.  
  
Alanna rushed over. "Katja. I need to talk to you."  
  
Sighing, Katja stood. At least she wouldn't have to answer anymore questions. "Yes?" she said icily.  
  
Taken aback by the girl's tone, Alanna just motioned for Katja to follow hr out the door.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Katja turned to Alanna as soon as they were in private.  
  
"Did it occur to you that I didn't want people to know who I was?" her eyes were an jade color once more.  
  
Alanna was shocked. Despite her dark hair and skin, the girl looked amazingly like her father with her strong jaw set stubbornly. The simularitied screamed at her. She swallowed, than spoke. "The King's planning on presenting you at courst tolorrow night."  
  
Katja groaned and sat down. "Oh, great." She rolled her eyes. "Presented. I hate this sort of thing."  
  
Alanna looked at her. "You sound almost exactly like your father."  
  
Her eyes turned gray. Like with the former Shang Dragon, Alanna couldn't tell what she was thinking. Katja turned and left, muttering something about practice.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Ironarm? As in Liam Ironarm? The Shang Dragon?" Owen gawked at the door. "As in the dead one?"  
  
"Well, aren't you tactful?" muttered Kel.  
  
Warric shrugged "Like I keep saying, Jesslaw's a madhouse."  
  
Faleron shifted uncomfortably. "Kel?"  
  
Kel nodded. "Yes. Liam Ironarm was her father." Neal let out a low whistle, and Kel glared at him.  
  
"Sorry." He grinned meekly.  
  
"Anyway, she's come to like at the palace, at least for a while."  
  
Owen sighed. "The Shang Unicorn is the daughter of the Shang Dragon?"  
  
"Former Shang Dragon." Faleron corrected. "She's the Unicorn, so-"  
  
"Talking about me?" Katja's eyes were a dancing cerulean. "I didn't think I had left that much of an impression."  
  
"You've come to stay at the palace?" Owen asked.  
  
Katja nodded. "For a while at least. Eda kept bugging me about staying here, so I finally agreed."  
  
"Why did she want you to stay here?" Asked Owen.  
  
"I don't know, now quit asking questions and eat your vegetables." She nodded to all the boys. "I have to go to the practice courts. See you later."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I had two entire pages left of this and it's all gone. Oh, well. I hope this does it for you so far. 


End file.
